Self-feeding applicator



Feb. 1950 R. B. BOWLING ET AL 2,498,980

SELF-FEEDING APPLICATOR Filed Oct. 8, 1947 INVENTOR. ROBERT 5. BOWL/N6ZAURENCE R BENNETT BY W W 141 4 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 7 2,498,980SELF-FEEDING APPLICATOR Robert B. Bowling and Laurence R. Bennett,Hamilton, Oh'io, assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, of one-halfto said Bowling and one-half to Frank Coures, Hamilton, Ohio ApplicationOctober 8, 1947, Serial No. 778,664

ZClaima' (01. 101327) 1 This invention relates to a self-feeding orfountain applicator for paint and other coating materials and has forone of its objects the provision of means whereby paints and othercoating materials may be applied to various surfaces in a andaccomplished with a minimum of inconvenience to the user.

Another object is to provide a self-feeding roller type of applicatorhavingmeans for applying decorative markings to a surface, with ease andat a rapid rate of progress.

These and other objects and advantages are attained by the meansdescribed herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawing, inwhich: Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in cross-section, of

the applicator of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental cross-sectional view of the applicator taken online 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an agitator attachment for theapplicator.

Paint applicators of the general character herein disclosed have notheretofore enjoyed a substantial amount of popularity,,. due to certainstructural faults which detracted from their utility and convenience ofmanipulation. The

' most common form of roller applicator available at the present time isone illustrated by U. S. Patent No. 2,411,84 issued December 3, 1946, toR. C. Adams. To use the Adams device, it is customary for the operatorto dip the roller into a' can of paint or other coating-substance, and

then squeeze out the excess by hand before the roller can be applied tothe wall or other surface to be coated. With repeated dipping and handsqueezing in the course of a painting job, the obvious result is a wasteof paint and a tendency to keep the hands soiled throughout the entirepainting process. The inconvenience and disagreeable confusion resultingfrom this has discouraged universal adoption of J the device forpainting purposes.

The superiority of the device of the present rations of cylinder 6 areindicated at B.

invention over prior devices of the same class will become evident asthe description thereof proceeds. Attention is directed to the fact thatthe simplicity of construction of the applicator does not sacrifice anyof its efiicacy. 1

Referring to Fig. 1, the applicator comprises a hollow roller 4rotatably mounted upon a handle member 5, the roller comprising aperforated cylinder 6 which is embraced by a plain or decorated cover ortube of pile fabric I, or other resilient material of suitable porosity.The perfo- One end of the cylinder 6 is closed by means of a fixed plug9, which may be pressed in, sweated on, or otherwise preferably fixedagainst displacement. The fixed plug 9 is provided with acircumferential flange l0, substantially larger in diameter than thediameter of the cylinder 6, which cooperates with a similar flange H onthe removable plug [2 at the opposite or charging port end of thecylinder 6 to confine the tube or cover 1 against displacement from thesaid cylinder. It will be noted that the tube 1 is substantially thesame length as the cylinder 8.

The fixed plug 9 is provided with an axially aligned blind hole l3 intowhich is journalled the roller shaft I4, said shaft being, by means ofthe blind hole [3, in leak-proof relation to the fixed plug 9. Suitablemeans for precluding endwise movement of the roller shaft M is provided,the exemplified form being a retaining pin I5 pressed into an apertureI6, Fig. 2, provided transversely of the fixed plug inner hub l8 andadapted to engage a circumferential groove l9 provided on the rollershaft M.

The handle arm 20 may be provided with a collar 2|, which may be weldedto the end thereof, as shown, said collar being in fixed engagement withthe roller shaft reduced diameter 22 by means of peening, as indicatedat 23, Fig. 1. Other means of fixing the handle collar 2i to the rollershaft 14 may be employed, such as a pin, setscrew, or weld.

The closure member or plug l2 at the charging port 24 may threadedlyengage the interiorly threaded cylinder 5, as indicated at 25, to thelimit imposed by the circumferential'flange H. The plug [2 may beprovided with a transverse slot 25a upon its outer face for theapplication of ascrew driver, coin or other suitable tool or article toaid in unscrewing the plug for filling or cleaning the cylinder 6.Detachment of the removable plug l2 permits removal of the fabric tube 1for cleaning or replacement purposes, said tube,

as hereinbefore recited, being confined between the plug flanges l andII during use of the applicator. Means other than screw threads, ofcourse, may be employed to aflford the desired removability of the plugl2.

The handle member 5, as shown in Fig. 1, is preferably offset or formedwith the arm portion 2E! bent at right angles'substantially beyond theradius of the pile fabric tube I to form the supporting arm 26 whichterminates substantially centrally between the ends of said tube 1, and:

bent again at right angles to form the handle shank 28. The latter maybe of any desired length, and may have fixed to its free end a suitablehand grip 29. The axisof the handle memher is preferably substantiallyco-planar atall.

points with the axis of the applicator roller.

As previously suggested herein, the tube or cover 'i' may have a plainworking surface when flat painting or coating is to be performed;however, should the operator desire to apply a decorative design to thesurface undergoing treatment, he may substitute for the plain cover ortube one which carries a design such as 3D. The design preferably is inrelief as shown upon the working face of the cover, and may be porouslike the cover, or possibly impervious depending upon the nature of thedecoration desired. When only the design 39 is to carry the paint to thesurface to be decorated, it will be desirable to make the design porousand to increase the extent to which it extends-from the surroundingsurface of the cover material. These considerations are subject tovarious modifications, as may be evident.

In some instances, it may be desirable to furnish means Within theroller or cylinder to keep the paint or coating material thoroughlymixed during use of the applicator. This may conveniently beaccomplished by furnishing a suitable agitator, one form of which isillustrated by Fig.

3. As there shown, the agitator comprisesa pair of plates 3|, preferablyof thin sheet metal, each bent to provide vanes or partition members 32and 33 having an intermediate flattened portion 34, the portions 34being in flatwise'contact and.

secured together in any suitable manner as'by means of screws or rivets35, or by welding, crimping, or other common practice. The vanes of eachplate may be angularly related to one another at approximately 90degrees divergency. The agitator as shown in Fig. 3 should be so dimensioned as to fit wholly within the cylinder or roller 6, withfrictional contact between the-cylinder wall and the vanes sufiicient toenforce rotation of the agitator with the cylinder. sure the desiredfrictional contact, the longitudinal margins of the vanes'may be turnedas indicated at 36-to provide flexible flanges 31 adapted to resilientlybear against the innerface" of the cylinder wall. At intervals, thevanes may be perforated or notched along the flanges 31, as at 38, topermit a flow of paint or coating material from one agitator compartmentto another as the cylinder rotates during use of the applicator. It willreadily be evident that the agitator'may comprise any number of vanes orpartitions, and. means other than the resilient-flanges .3 might beemployed tosubstantially fix the agitator within the cylinder. Theagitator may be supplied as an attachment, if desired, or it may be partof the applicator as originally assembled.

From the foregoing specifications andaccompanying drawings it is obviousthat the device of the present invention offers substantial improvementsover former coating applicators, in both construction and use. Theperforated cylinder may be fabricated from any suitable metal, plastic,or composition material, and the tube or cover. I is likewise subject tochange of materials.

It is to be understood, of course, that various structural changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an applicator for paint, the combination of a hollowcyiindricalroller having a stiff pervious wall and having a closure plug in one endprovided with a bearing, a removable filler plug normally closing theother end of said roller, a handle, means for mounting said handle insaid bearing whereby said roller may be rotated about its longitudinalaxis, and an agitator and spreader inside said cylinder, said agitatorand spreader comprising a plurality of flat vanes extending radiallyfrom the longitudinal axis of the roller, said vanes being attachedtogether at the center of said roller and having their outer edgesbearing on inner walls of the roller, the outer. edges of the vanesbeing slotted to permit controlled amounts of the coating material toflow through the slots to pass thevanes asthe roller rolls.

- 2. In an applicator for paint, the combination of a hollow cylindricalroller having a stiff pervious wall, said Wall including an innerperforate metal cylinder and an outer covering of pervious fabricmaterial, said roller having a closure plug in one end provided with abearing, a removable filler plug normally closing the other endof saidroller, a handle-means for mounting said handle in said bearing wherebysaid roller may be rotated about its longitudinal axis, and an agitatorand spreader inside said cylinder, said agitator and spreader comprisinga plurality of flat-vanes extending radially from the longitudinal axisof the roller, said vanes being attached together atthe center of saidroller and having their'outer edges bearing oninner walls of the roller,the outer edges of the vanes being slotted to permit controlled amountsof the coating material to flow through the slots to pass the vanes asthe roller rolls, the paint passing through the perforations andpenetrating the fabric cover, the metal cylinder holding the outer coverfirmly in cylindrical shape.

. ROBERT E. BOWLING.

LAURENCE R. BENNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record'in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,018,886 Dodge Feb. 27, 19121,468,446 Graham Sept. 18, 1923 1,5273% Brasseur Feb. 2 1, 19251,829,579 Beach Oct. 27, 1931 2,160,570 Welt May 30, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 424,505 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1935

